Muhyiddin Yassin Is at a Crossroads – and His Party’s Future May Hang in the Balance

PN chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin who has played an instrumental role in the formation of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) has been sidelined now.

On Sept 4, four mentri besar of Perikatan-led states had a meeting with Dr Mahathir and have agreed in principle to form a strategic cooperation and investments group called State Government Four (SG4). PN Chairman Muhyiddin Yassin was not invited for this meeting.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s appointment as the unofficial advisor to the co-operation group of four PN/PAS-held states with the assent from the PAS’s top leadership is what rattled Muhyiddin the most.

Muhyiddin was not given the importance he was expecting within the Opposition Alliance. That he has been eyeing to be prime minister again is an open secret, even though he has been claiming that he does not need anything and is just trying to unite the Malay community together on one platform.

Such selfless talks coming from a man who has retained the prime minister chair for 17 months between 2020 and 2021 by declaring an emergency by shifting allegiance and changing ideology may appear incongruous to many discerning observers. Seeing his nature of switching sides for his own gains, it is being said that no one trusts Muhyiddin.

Will Muhyiddin change colour again? Can Muhyidden change sides once again? Why not! His political trajectory has been marked by remarkable flexibility when it comes to remaining in power by hook or by crook.

But also tension is brewing between Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin and supreme council member Azmin Ali and they appear to have had a serious falling-out, threatening to further destabilise Bersatu.

If speculations are to be believed, things may boil over in Bersatu in the coming months, with Hamzah supposedly already being given the cold shoulder by Muhyiddin. The coalition’s poor showing in the recent Johor state election has further aggravated the situation.

Muhyiddin has his own problems, still has three money-laundering charges. The graft charges revolved around the award of contracts to selected ethnic Malay contractors allegedly in return for bribes, and approving an appeal by a business tycoon over the cancellation of his tax exemption. Even his son-in-law, Adlan Berhan, is now on the run from the law and is a fugitive.

For Dr Mahathir, however, perhaps, is attempting to beat Muhyiddin in his own Machiavellian game. It remains to be seen whether Muhyiddin swallows his pride again or treats the latest crisis as the final nail in the coffin.

Manifestation Of Peninsula-centric

The problem with Anwar Ibrahim is that he is not empowering the PKR local chaps in Sabah.  Why can’t he get the Sabah boys to lead Sabahans? Why cannot? What is so wrong if Dr Jeffrey Kitingan is to lead Sabah? Why so peninsular-centric even after 46 years of independence? Come on lah Anwar, you can do better than this.

Appointing Azmin Ali to look after PKR Sabah is a real mistake.

This Azmin fellow is suppose to help organise and help recruit members (encouraging new members in Sabah to join PKR) and to build an active membership for PKR in Sabah, but he is not. He is trying to micro-manage PKR Sabah affairs and in so-doing creating friction among the Sabah PKR leaders. Who is Azmin Ali a junior in politics, a greenhorn to Sabah politics, instructing  Dr Jeffrey Kitingan? Azmin is just another shithole!

All the good people left PKR because of Azmin Ali’s stupid attitude. Azmin has a tendency of dominating and monopolising Anwar. See how he undermined Tan Sri Khalid in Selangor? Even in Penang he is trying to undermine my good friend Dr Mansor the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang. Now, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim seem destined to become yet another casualty.

Maybe Anwar and PKR should go and learn some organisational skills from Kit Siang and Karpal. See how the DAP operates in Sabah and Sarawak. DAP didn’t put a West Malaysian guy to look after their operations in Sabah and Sarawak.  Go learn a thing or two from DAP and maybe this will help PKR run their operations in Sabah better.

I don’t know what is with this KL. It seems politicians both opposition and ruling seem to manifest how peninsula-centric they can be. Even some federal govt officers in Sabah are full of ego, superiority complex and some so BIG headed, arrogant and living in a world of their own. How to promote national unity and integration like this eh? A Penangite, I have been living in Sabah long and even my two Sabahan kids tell it to me on my face.

Now Najib our PM talks in great deal about this 1Malaysia thingy, the sugar-coated slogan of his.  For me, this 1Malaysia is an empty-shell slogan with no real substance and intentions. As long as we have corruption, injustice, discrimination, inequality and particularly the “Ketuanan Melayu”, no way we can achieve 1Malaysia. Can Najib do it? I doubt it but we shall see as time will tell. Maybe Najib should come and stay in Sabah and Sarawak to learn about 1Malaysia which has been existing long before Malaysia was formed in 1963.

The issue is colonization in the 21st century. East Malaysia is getting the same treatment as East Timor under Indonesia, becoming a second class minority in their own country, with no history of being part of Malaya until Malaysia was formed.